The Blind Side (2009)
Directed by John Lee Hancock
Written by John Lee Hancock
Starring Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Lily Collins, Kim Dickens, Kathy Bates
Release Date November 20th, 2009
Published November 19th, 2009
Until this past summer and the hit comedy "The Proposal" Sandra Bullock had been wandering in the woods in Hollywood. Now, after her summer blockbuster and despite the disastrous shelf-dweller “All About Steve,” Sandra Bullock is back on top in a big way with “The Blind Side.” Starring as the matriarch of one exceptionally compassionate family, Bullock shows never before seen range and depth in a story of great warmth and strength.
Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) was a 16 year old kid with few prospects for the future. Living part time on the streets, and the couch of friends and extended relatives when he could, Michael got a small but urgent break. Because of his immense size and athleticism a football coach at a small Tennessee Christian high school pushed and got him enrolled.
That was only the beginning. Michael, still living on the streets, had only a 4th grade reading comprehension. He had no school transcripts and the teachers at his new school had little patience. It was then that fate intervened in the forceful form of Leigh Anne Tuohy (Bullock.) Seeing poor Michael late one night after a sporting event wandering in the cold wearing only shorts and a t-shirt, Leigh Ann invites him home.
Michael intended to stay only a night but a night became a week and then a month and soon he was family, fitting in well with new little brother S.J (Jae Head) and eventually with sister Collins (Lily Collins). He also found a strong father figure in Sean Tuohy (Tim McGraw) , an athlete in his own right who pushes Michael to join the football team.
While Sean is supportive it is Leigh Ann that is the driving force in changing Michael's life, he eventually comes to call her mama. In a scene that has been prominently figured into the movie trailer; Leigh Ann is the one who explains to Michael just what a left tackle does on the football field. It's a little cheesy, but the scene plays and so does this movie.
Based on the book "The Blind Side: An Evolution of a Game" by Michael Lewis, The Blind Side is one extraordinary true story. Michael Oher is today a multi-millionaire left tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. The real life Tuohy's did indeed bring Michael into their lives and were there the day he was drafted into the NFL. Michael's story was ready made for the movies.
Writer-Director John Lee Hancock has experience with inspirational true sports stories, he scored a hit for Disney in 2005 with the story of a 40 year old relief pitcher who gets his big break in the big leagues in "The Rookie". That film was a saccharine melodrama that suffered from cliché and lack of invention.
Some of those same issues are present in "The Blind Side" but that is where Ms. Bullock's performance steps in. Leigh Ann Tuohy is a no nonsense character who keeps the artifice of the director at bay with grit and a lively sense of humor. When Leigh Ann does succumb to the emotion of a particular moment it has power because she has so assiduously avoided the simpleminded emotional moments offered earlier.
Sandra Bullock drives "The Blind Side" over the potholes of pedestrian direction. She gives the film resonance and emotional strength and she is aided greatly by newcomer Quinton Aaron who's gentle, teddy bear-like performance is a total winner. It's hard to believe an NFL lineman could be as amiable as Aaron's Michael Oher but I would like to believe it.
The real life Michael Oher story has quite a few differences from what you see in "The Blind Side'' but for what it is, a Hollywood-ized melodrama, "The Blind Side'' is a warm compassionate fairytale come true featuring a career best performance from an actress long ago written off as a comedienne on the downside of her box office career. Welcome back Sandra Bullock.
